Anthony Joshua admits he’d find boxing Oleksandr Usyk tough if the roles were reversed and his homeland was besieged by war.
And the former world heavyweight champion has nothing but respect for the way the man who dethroned him took up arms to help defend Ukraine in February following an invasion by Russia.
The two men will meet on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 11 months after they clashed for the first time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joshua said: “If it was me, yes, my country being at war would definitely have an impact and I don’t know if it would be positive or negative.
“I don’t know how I would deal with it but I know it would be tough. I have never lived in anything like a conflict like that, so I don’t know the sort of ramifications it would have on me. But I respect what he has done 100 per cent. It’s his home, isn’t it? You have to defend your home. It is such a shame that civilians get the worst end of the bargain in wars, when it is a political issue. He is just trying to defend his community so I respect him. I would have done the same, not as a boxer or a warrior, just as a general person. People have decided not to leave and to defend their homes, that has nothing to do with being a warrior. I respect what he has done.”
Former cruiserweight world champ Usyk already had the respect of the boxing fraternity when he stepped up to heavyweight and climbed into the ring to face Joshua in his third fight in the division. But that respect reached new levels altogether after comprehensively outboxed the Brit. Joshua, by his own admission, simply did make use of the considerable size advantage he holds over Usyk, although he is adamant that won’t be the case this time.
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Asked if he plans to use his size and power more in the rematch, he added: “Yes, it’s evident isn’t it? It’s not a secret. They are things that I need to use but it’s easier said than done. So we work on it, that’s why training camps are so challenging and why you usually see a fighter straight on the beach after a fight, because it’s draining. It’s evident that I am stronger and bigger and, if I can impose my strengths on him, I will have a better chance of winning the fight.”
The pair’s rematch looked in serious jeopardy in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but Joshua was never going to put any added pressure on Usyk in an already dreadful situation. He said: “We looked at suitable dates for him and his team. It was important for them to be ready rather than us forcing a date upon them. I didn’t want us to say, ‘This is the date it has to be’, I wanted us to work together. That’s the way we show compassion. He wanted to compete and defend the belts, it was scheduled for around June 11, then it changed for his and Saudi’s reasons. But I fell like it has now worked out for everyone in the long run.”
